CELTIC have been excellent in the Champions League and have turned Parkhead back into a fortress. Now Club Brugge will be the latest side to enter the cauldron this week.
The Hoops maintained their Premiership charge at the weekend by moving three points clear of Aberdeen and 11 clear of Rangers with a win at Hearts and they look absolutely certainties to retain their title again.
And they have blown away both Slovan Bratislava and impressively, RB Leipzig, in their two home games in the Champions League. They were hammered themselves in Germany in a 7-1 mauling by Borussia Dortmund although they gained a creditable point in Italy against Atalanta.
At last, they seem to be serious players in Glasgow especially and will be targeting not just a play-off spot, but also the real possibility of a top eight automatic qualifying spot.
They face an inconsistent Club Brugge side who were perfectly summed up in their last two league games. They lost to bottom-of-the-league Beerschot and then responded by winning 7-0 against Sint-Truidense.
But in the Champions League, they produced a famous win against Aston Villa in their last match at home and also went to Austria and won 1-0 against Sturm Graz.
How the bookies view it: Celtic favourites to make it three out of three
Celtic have a 100 per cent home record in the Champions League and are evens to make it three with bet365.Club Brugge are 11/4 to win with Paddy Power. The draw is 11/4 with UniBet.
Recent head to heads: First ever meeting
Surprisingly, given both clubs' long European history, this is their first ever meeting.
Players to watch: Saint Nic loves this time of year
Nicolas Kuhn is already looking like a shoe-in for Player of the Year and netted another brilliant goal at Hearts in Celtic's 4-1 win. He netted a double against RB Leipzig and is 10/3 to score anytime with Betfred.
Greek international striker Christos Tzolis grabbed a brilliant four-goal haul at the weekend and also grabbed the only goal in the Champions League win at Sturm Graz.
Predicted line-ups
Celtic have a clean bill of health and Brendan Rodgers will surely pick their strongest possible line-up.
Club Brugge have four doubts for the game with Dutch Under 21s left back Bjorn Meijer, Swedish international striker Gustaf Nilsson, Norwegian international midfielder Hugo Vetlesen and Belgian international right back Hugo Siquet all unlikely to make it.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Maeda, Kyogo, Kuhn.
Club Brugge: Mignolet, Mechele, De Cuyper, Spileers, Seys, Vanaken, Jashari, Onyedika, Tzolis, Vermant, Talbi.
Anything else catch the eye?
Celtic look a different animal at home from previous lacklustre Champions League campaigns and have to be backed to win again here against a Club Brugge side with injuries and consistency problems.
The way the Hoops completely dominated RB Leipzig – who were second in the Bundesliga at the time – in their last game should be a warning to the Belgians, who are after all are six points off the pace in the Belgian League.
They will go into this full of confidence and of course, that atmosphere should be a massive help.
Celtic won 11 corners on their own against Slovan Bratislava and seven against RB Leipzig, so UniBet's 6/5 for them to get over 5.5 corners has to be backed.
This UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Club Brugge will be played on Nov 27, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Celtic vs Club Brugge prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
